You give what? to who? for why? (or why we support the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre).

By John Roberts
23 November 2009 02:43:00

One of the questions that I am most frequently asked, a question that has me scratching my head, is "You do a great job here, does the Government give you any funding?".  I cough a little and furrow my brow, say thanks for the compliment but never really understand why the Government would fund a private enterprise, or even a Thai registered foundation - yes, our goals may be broadly similar but I've never heard of Governments financially supporting N.G.O's.

    In fact, in our case, through the King's Cup Elephant Polo tournament held each year, it is often the other way around - but when I say as much it is the turn of my friendly guest or journalist to furrow their brow and ask why a struggling little enterprise which (by the dirt 'neath my nails and the holes in my jeans) is obviously working from month to month just to keep our eles and mahouts in the style to which they've become accustomed.  Why would we be giving that hard earned cash (& don't believe anyone who tells you that just because most of the money is donated in a charity auction it is not hard earned, not only is a charitable auction incredibly hard to organise, it is not unfair to say that to get those donors into that position takes the entire management staff of the hotel plus a few die-hard outside supporters three to six month's dedicated work along with the investment of millions of baht - not to mention the organisation of twenty elephants off the streets and just a little sweat from my aging limbs) to a Government institution?  

    Well, the initial answer to that is easy, it is our stated intention to help all the elephants in Thailand and we believe that, as well as looking after our few in such a way as to set up a blue-print that can be copied elsewhere, the Government, in particular the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre (in the North) are in an incredible position to do that.

    But then people go and visit, scratch the surface a little bit, slide between the gates and go to Lampang and what do they find?  Well, on initial inspection, they see a largely commercial operation with an entrance fee, an elephant show, everything for sale all the time - it looks just like all the other elephant camps in Thailand, they're all businesses, why would this be any different?

    Well, two reasons...

    The first will be familiar, in a way far deeper than we have ever tried here, the T.E.C.C. have recognised that Thai elephants, if they are to survive in domesticity will have to make money in order to keep themselves fed and have dedicated themselves to finding safe, sustainable ways of doing this that will appeal to all markets; remember all the alternatives to 'elephant trekking' you've heard about from camps with different P.R. approaches or seen on the internet?  You can probably bet they originated at the T.E.C.C. - our very own mahout training course started with them, the first folks to do it; elephant dung paper? yep, first in the world; elephant painting? years before that video went viral you could buy conceptual art from the budding pachyderm Piccassos of Lampang; elephant orchestra? well, not many people doing that yet but still they've featured on some high powered movie scores and have three CD's under their belt - just about any idea you can think of that is now seen with a 'wow' on the internet or a blog, if it safe for elephants and can earn a mahout (or a business) extra money giving the ele an extra hour off, it was probably pioneered and trialled at the T.E.C.C.  It may have been tuned and tweaked elsewhere but the idea was probably from there.

    The second reason, the stuff you don't see - the hospital is pretty visible and gives free care to any Thai elephant but you don't see the research that goes on; the mobile veterinary clinic that will come to any elephant that is not in need of hospital treatment but still needs a vet; you don't see the musth control team that can come out at the drop of a hat, free of charge, highly trained, highly skilled crack mahouts who'll come and sedate your out of control musth bull (eh Phu Khi!) who would, in previous years, been in danger not only of hurting folks but of catching a bullet rather than a dart of sedative; it is possible to miss the Elephant and Mahout Training college which researches and offers new elephant training methods away from the brutal ones practiced in the old days, teaches new mahouts and old hands new ways of looking after the elephants; unless you sweep the internet you don't get to see the publications in Thai and in English that come out of the T.E.C.C's typewriters on elephant care, history and everything in between and finally (but not comprehensively, these are just the things I can think of from the top of my head and there's plenty that I don't know about), the thing that gave us the idea to come down here and write this blog, the Pang La Sanctuary for disabled, elderly and dangerous elephants - operating quietly for over 30 years now without an official opening or any way of turning a dime.

    All of this extra stuff costs money over and above keeping and feeding the eighty odd elephants under their care and this is why, when the management system have a project that needs supporting - we're currently working with their Thai Elephant Therapy Project to train already domesticated Thai elephants (preferably ex-street eles) to work with Autistic children they can come to us and to the King's Cup Elephant Polo with a proposal for equipment or for specific funding and, if we can see it will be good for all Thai eles in the long run, there's a good chance we'll put our noses to the grindstone and try to raise some cash, and over the years, with the help of our sponsors, we haven't done badly...

...over the last few weeks we've had reason to visit a few times and a few facilities, so I thought I'd take a few photos of the more visible things the King's Cup has given in order to help this work.



Mahout housing at the hospital, so not only can elephants come and get free care, the mahouts can now stay with their eles.



...a few years ago we scraped together enough shekels for three pick-ups, now seen moving staff and fodder between the Lampang sites...



...the dedicated elephant ambulance travels all over the country to help sick elephants come to the centre and can also double as purely a well designed elephant transport truck.



...and with the money from the 2009 tournament we've agreed to help the Thai Elephant Therapy Project, five elephants have been off the streets and under training at the T.E.C.C. for three months already, the research is due to begin in earnest next March.